Tuesday was A DAY in the political world (ICYMI, check out our post about it here). And you know what you should do after one of those days? Call your Members of Congress.

Calling your Senators and Representative can be difficult. Phone anxiety is real and often you don’t know what to say. We’re going to try and help you out by providing scripts and tips on calling and voicing your opinions — starting today!

TIPS FOR CALLING YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

1. Always state your name (preferably your full name, but if not at least your first time) and zip code. Congressional offices can’t log your call if you do not provide any information confirming you are a resident — and no, just saying you’re a resident doesn’t count.
2. If you want a response from whomever you are calling, you have to provide contact information and clearly state that you want a response from them.
3. State why you are calling and your opinion CLEARLY. Most likely, your opinion will be logged by topic and then caller’s opinion. You can talk about multiple issues on one call, but be sure to state the issues and your opinion on that issue clearly. I would even advise making separate calls for different issues to ensure that all of your opinions are logged.
4. Always be polite. Most of the time, the person answering the phone or checking the voicemail inbox is a Staff Assistant or an intern. They have not wronged you. It’s literally their job to take calls and check the voicemail box. If you get a real person on the other end, ask them how they’re doing. Be kind. Just because their boss may be an asshole, doesn’t mean they are.
5. Don’t get upset if you are sent straight to voicemail. Some offices (Senate offices in particular) get such a high call volume every day that they usually send everyone straight to voicemail. It’s not that they don’t want to hear from constituents, it’s that sending everyone to voicemail is the most effective way to ensure people’s opinions are heard and logged.

FINDING YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS’S CONTACT INFORMATION

I really enjoy the website ContactingCongress.com. Not only does this website make it easy for find your MoC’s contact information, but it gives you quick facts about them and their state. You can see an example of what their listings look like below.

Example quick facts and contact info page from ContactingCongress.com

We’ve drafted two call scripts for you and included them below. We also recommend the service 5calls. You can read about them and why we love them so much here.

CALL SCRIPTS FOR THIS WEEK

If you’re calling about healthcare…

My name is [YOUR NAME] and my zip code is [ZIP CODE]. I am calling to urge [Senator][Senator’s Name] to vote NO on the BCRA. This bill will be detrimental to our country. CBO reported that this bill would cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance, destabilize healthcare markets, and increase the cost of healthcare for all Americans. Repealing crucial parts of the Affordable Care Act will not only impact people’s health, but will also jeopardize the financial security of many Americans. A bill drafted behind closed doors is not a bill designed to better America — it’s designed to benefit the few and rob the masses. Please vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act. Thank you.

If you’re calling about healthcare, specifically in Ohio…

Hi Senator Portman. My name is [NAME] and my zip code is [ZIP CODE]. I am calling today because it is very important to me that you vote “No” on the Better Care Reconciliation Act. This TrumpCare legislation will be detrimental to many Americans — and drastically impact Ohio. It’s despicable that Senator Portman place party over country and would risk over 22 million Americans losing healthcare over the next ten years. With Governor Kasich’s latest decision on Medicaid, opposing TrumpCare is even more important. Since the Medicaid expansion was implanted in 2014, more than 700,000 Ohioans have been able to obtain health insurance through Medicaid. If TrumpCare goes into effect, anyone under the age of 64 who needs to enroll in Medicaid will not be able to — and up to 500,000 people could lose coverage. Overall, this legislation will only set us back years and make America sicker. I urge Senator Portman to join us colleagues across the aisle and vote no on Trumpcare.

If you’re calling about Donald Trump, Jr.’s emails…

My name is [YOUR NAME] and my zip code is [ZIP CODE]. I am calling to urge [Senator/Representative][Their Name] to urge the Senate Intelligence Committee to investigate Donald Trump and his associates’ ties to Russia throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. In light of the news that Donald Trump, Jr. met with a Russian agent with the intent of negatively impacting the 2016 presidential election, it is of the utmost importance that these meetings and relationships are investigated. If the emails released by Donald Trump, Jr. are not treasonous, then I have no idea what is. Please stand on the side of justice and upholding the foundation of our democracy and support an investigation into these ties. Thank you.

It takes all of five minutes to call your Members of Congress. If you have phone anxiety like I do, do it first thing in the morning to get it done and other with. If you would rather speak to a voicemail box, call before 8:30am or after 6pm. Whatever you do, make sure you call. We the People doesn’t mean Congress — it means you.

UPDATE: We are taking custom call script requests. Do you want to give specific facts about how the Better Care Reconciliation Act will impact your state or specific healthcare issue? Do you want to cite more detailed data? Drop us a line theneverthelessproject@gmail.com and make your script requests!